GuocoLand launches Midtown Bay on Oct 5
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In an unprecedented move, property developer GuocoLand has decided to open the sales gallery of its latest residential offering, Midtown Bay, for public preview and for sale on the same day, that is Oct 5.
Midtown Bay is a 33-storey, residential tower that forms part of GuocoLand’s $2.4 billion integrated development, Guoco Midtown, located on Beach Road. The 219 residences at Midtown Bay are made up of a mix of one- to three-bedroom apartments with sizes from 409 to 1,324 sq ft.
The development is marketed jointly by Edmund Tie, ERA Realty Network, Huttons Asia and PropNex Realty. It is said to be the only residential project within an integrated development in the CBD to be launched this year.
GuocoLand purchased the Guoco Midtown site, which is a 2.1ha commercial site in a Government Land Sale (GLS), for $1.62 billion in October 2017 jointly with Guoco Group. The development for this site is planned for completion in 1H2022.
In September this year, GuocoLand also won the GLS site on Tan Quee Lan Street located directly across Beach Road for $800.19 million. GuocoLand’s joint-venture partners for the Tan Quee Lan Street GLS site are Hong Leong Holdings’ subsidiaries, Intrepid Investments and Hong Realty.
Midtown Bay will be plugged into the vibrancy, convenience and abundant facilities at Guoco Midtown,
an integrated development that will boast a total built-up area of 950,600 sq ft once it is completed in 2022 (Credit: GuocoLand Singapore)
Expanded Guoco Midtown
With the Tan Quee Lan Street GLS site, GuocoLand will be able to enlarge the Guoco Midtown area by 50% to 3.2ha and bring total gross floor area to 1.5 million sq ft. The Tan Quee Lan Street site will feature luxury residences that cater to families who want a CBD location, says Cheng Hsing Yao, GuocoLand Singapore group managing director.
The new project at Guoco Midtown is expected to draw an additional 10,000 visitors to the Beach Road area when completed.
Excluding the Tan Quee Lan Street site, the upcoming Guoco Midtown is largely a commercial development with a total built-up area of 950,600 sq ft. Offices make up 770,000 sq ft or 81% of the gross floor area; retail and F&B spaces account for another 32,290 sq ft; while public spaces make up 170,000 sq ft.
The Grade-A office space spans across 30 storeys. There is also a three-storey conserved building that formerly housed the Beach Road Police station and a two-storey retail and F&B block.
The common area in a one-bedroom unit at Midtown Bay can fit a six-seater table (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/ EdgeProp Singapore)
Members-only club
There is also Midtown Hub, a members-only business and social club of 80,000 sq ft. It contains private office suites, networking lounges, meeting rooms and conference facilities. It is open to both office tenants and residents of Guoco Midtown. There will also be work spaces, smaller rooms for private gatherings and larger ones that can house 200 people.
Residents of Midtown Bay will have access to all these other components within the development. “When I first heard about the [Midtown] Hub, I said ‘Oh wow, you could be rubbing shoulders with the next Nas Daily [the travel video blogger]’,” comments Dominic Lee, head of luxury team at PropNex Realty. “This is a new generation of people who don’t have to work in an office. The [Midtown] Hub gives you an opportunity to meet people like this, which is invaluable. It’s something that you can’t quantify.”
According to GuocoLand’s Cheng, the developer could have just built a pure office development. “But we felt that it’s important to have a mix of uses,” he says. “At night, you will have people living here and people coming through to the F&B outlets, [Midtown] Hub or attending events.” He sees it injecting vibrancy to that part of Beach Road and the CBD, a contrast to the past when the CBD transforms into a ghost town at night.
Guoco Midtown caters to the millennial lifestyle where working, living and entertainment all come together, notes Ong Choon Fah, CEO and head of research and consulting at Edmund Tie.
At Midtown Bay, one-bedroom units from 409 sq ft make up 107 (49%) of the 219 units, while two-bedroom units from 732 sq ft make up 72 units (33%). Another 32 units (15%) are two-bedroom duplexes from 990 sq ft; while three-bedroom duplexes of 1,324 sq ft make up just eight units.
The bedrooms are fitted with neutral-themed wardrobes to allow the flexibility of converting the spaces into home offices (Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/ EdgeProp Singapore)
Adaptability of units
What’s unique about these 40 duplexes is that they can be adapted from a “2+1 apartment” into two separate one-bedroom units on different levels. The flexibility of the rooms allows for use as a bedroom, an office or entertainment area.
All units at Midtown Bay are fitted with high-end, V-Zug kitchen appliances and have a 3.2m ceiling height. “Typically, developers do not put a lot of attention on one-bedroom units as they are small units,” says Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Realty Network. The quality fittings at Midtown Bay are therefore “a deal sweetener”, he adds.
Prices start from $1.38 million for a one-bedder and from $2.08 million for a two-bedder.
Beyond millennial homeowners, GuocoLand foresees interest coming from investors looking to tap the CBD rental market.
“There are many MNCs and corporates located in the offices in this area,” says Dora Chng, GuocoLand general manager (residential). “There is a big enough rental demand [from such corporate tenants].”
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